(Quest) The Long Haul [Taletha, Rawls, Tallis, Alva]

[Chevalier]

Taletha and Alva

"Ho, me an' schree lasshesh. Whadda lucky bloke eh?" the tall Knight sent a quick jab into shorter, more squat Ser Danhiel, whom responded by shoving him so hard it almost sent the stringy Ser Carter from his feet. Ser Carter was possibly almost six and a half feet tall, but if he weighed anything over one hundred and eighty pounds it would have been a miracle. A course beard and mustache covered his entire face, although it was clear he attempted to keep it trimmed only to about one inch in length. His shaggy hair melded down into that beard, allowing all the hair on his head to become one continuous lump of fuzz.

"A quick introducshon, I'm Sher Carter, an' that there'sh Denish." it almost sounded as if the man was drunk, but a keen nose would indicate there was no aroma of alcohol upon him. In fact, nothing about his movement suggested he was in the slightest bit inebriated. "Schome folksh call me Scharecrow, on a'count 'o me build. 'Am fine wish that..."

"That's not why we call you Scarecrow. And don't call me Denise. Ever." replied a cold Ser Danhiel. Her second comment was clearly directed as much to the recruits as it was to her partner. Standing at approximately five foot eight, the woman appeared to have enough muscle and bodily thickness for the two of them. Her black hair was choppy and short, almost as if an unsteady hand had done a poor job at cropping it.

"Detailsh. Come, everyone on a horsh, we ride ahead. The flooded road liesh about half a mile." he commented, waving the Alva and Taletha over to several tethered mounts. In the end Taletha was given the reigns of a black mare with a white painted face, while Alva would be riding a caramel colored stallion. "Ya'll professhional ridersh? What, no? Alright alright, quick lesshon. Firsht, check the schinch, that'sh the schtrap beneath the shaddle o' the underbelly. Pull it an' make shure itsh tight. Next grab a handful of the mane with the left hand. If'n the horsh movsh forward, ya dunna want to be pulling back on the mouth. Now, schtand shoulder to shoulder wish the horsh, turn the shtirrup toward ya. Right..." the bearded man continued as he instructed both Taletha and Alva one the simplest points of horse riding. Though Alva had her experience, it was always good to have a quick refresher, especially when riding into the darkness. The lesson went on, moving into posture, control of the reigns, and dismounting. Overall Ser Carter didn't seem to have many worries, as the distance was short, and the quartet of those going would be riding at a slow canter.

"Alright, lesh move out!" he said as both he and Ser Danhiel climbed atop their own mounts. In a line the four of them walked from the camp and then sped up slightly as they transitioned onto the roadway. "A schout hash gotta have a good pair 'o eyes an earsh. Ya wanna keep a bead on yur direcshion. Watsh th’ way th’ light fallsh acrossh the shky. Keep a mental record o' the way thingsh look. A particular tree, a strange plant. It'll help ya remember whitsh way ya came from if ya get all turned around. In the woodsh, mark yur path. Shcore a tree with a blade." he explained as they road forth. "Tell me a lil' bout yurshelvesh while we ride. Or at leasht yur namesh. I dunno quite everyone in th' order yet." he cocked his head rearward as he spoke with a slight chuckle to his words.

Harper and Tallis

"Excellent, good to have you both with us. Ser Monsel here is our resident crackshot archer, so he'll be taking down whatever we can manage to scare up. The woods around here are well known for having bountiful game, but best to be on the lookout ever since the Djed storm. Things have calmed down a bit, but I'm still not totally convinced we've seen the last of that craziness." the Sergeant spoke as he welcomed both Tallis and Harper with a firm handshake. Brinkaas seemed to be a trust-worthy, level headed kind of man. He looked even and tempered through years of Knightly training, but was otherwise very pleasant to almost everyone he dealt with.

"Just a few quick things before we go out. When you go hunting in the woods, make sure you wear sturdy, close fabric and good boots. Wear a tabard or overjacket on the outside to cover up the shine of any armor if you wear metal. Now the fun part." the Sergeant mentioned as he reached into his pack, rummaged for a moment, and pulled out a tin. With a quick twist he removed the lid and revealed four individual sections within the circular tin, each containing an amount of some pasty dark substance. "It's time to get dirty. This is camouflage, a paste or cream that you can apply to your skin. Animals notice people by their scent and their silhouettes, and camouflage helps you break up your silhouette. I'll show you how, but first let us stand near the campfire."

With a brief wave, Brinkaas led his two temporary pupils over toward the campfire and stood them directly in line of the smoke based upon the direction of the wind. While at first this could have seemed like some cruel joke, considering potential coughing and watery eyes, he quickly explained himself, "Getting the smell of smoke on you helps mask your scent. Animals are afraid of fresh smoke, but old smoke, the kind that gets into your clothes and lingers for a bit don't cause them any problem. Now the camouflage. When you apply camouflage...Mr. Tallis if you'll stand right where you are...excellent...there are two methods. The blotch..." the Sergeant dipped his fingers within one bit of the substance and smeared it across Tallis' forehead, rubbing it in like an irregular circle, "...and the slash." with some residue on the same finger, he targeted another part of Tallis' face and quickly dragged the tip of his finger across the surface, this time creating a line of camouflage that started out thick, and narrowed at it's ending point.

"When you hunt in leafy brush, you want to use blotching. When you hunt in the pines, you want to use slashes. The coloring is also important. Cover places on your body that reflect light more easily with darker camouflage. The forehead, the nose, the cheekbones for instance. Cover more shadowed areas with lighter camouflage, like under the eyes, the neck, and under the chin. When you apply the colors, work on one color at a time, and use a different finger with you transition to another color. Keeps the tin from turning into one mess. It's easier to do it on someone else than on yourself, so Mr. Tallis, you'll paint Squire Harper, and Harper you'll paint Tallis." the Sergeant commented with a matter-of-fact nod at the end. In the meantime he seemed skilled enough to apply the stuff to himself quickly and efficiently enough, with Monsel doing the same.

Once everyone was well camouflaged, Brinkaas directed the group out of the camp and into the thick wooded area just to the south. As they proceeded into the woodline Brinkaas turned the conversation over to Ser Monsel, in order for him to add any survivalist tips. The Sergeant wasn't the best at stealth, but Monsel had achieved a nickname amongst the Knights as 'The Phantom'. "My bruddar and sistar. You wan' be keepin' your pace re-aal slow. Ani-muls cin spot de move-mant, ya? Eet reduces noise also. Keeps you'a able te lissan clo-as te de surroundings. Same for when you be stalkin' de enemy. Use 'is move-mant te mask your own sounds. Move when de beeg wind blows, take advantage of de noise when eet comes."

[Harper]

A serious expression loomed over Harper's face as she examined Tallis. He looked young, younger than she was. "Hello," She croaked. "I am Harper." With that, she turned her attention to Brinkaas who had begun to speak. Harper's eyes widened somewhat as Ser Brinkaas took her hand and shook it forcefully. Never particularly liking physical contact, it somewhat caught her off guard. The man spoke in his gruff voice about the Djed storms, something Harper often tried so hard to forget. Harper had yet to see anything particularly shocking since the Storms, other than the extreme amount of destruction they left behind. No strange creatures or people have crossed her path yet, and for that she was grateful. Harper listened closely as Brinkaas described the clothes they should wear, noting to go back to her belongings to retrieve said-objects. She wanted to do everything correctly. Harper grimaced as Brinkaas sad "dirty." Oh god, how she hated being dirty. Harper's mood grew even more foul as she looked at the paste he called "camouflage." She did not want that on her skin. But she understood that she had to in order to hunt properly. She knew that she had to get dirty so she could eat. She walked over and stood in the smoke-pillar while Brinkaas explained why is was necessary. Harper let out a good stream of coughs, although trying to staunch them. A sense of relief washed over her as they finally left the smoke. Harper awkwardly looked at Tallis when Brinkaas explained that they'd be painting each other. She took a tin of the paste and turned towards Tallis. She dipped her fingers into the greasy-paste, fighting the urge to throw it to the ground and run away to bathe. She looked back up to Tallis. "I'm sorry if I do a terrible job at this, I've never been much of an artist... Just hold still." With that, Harper reached over and touched Tallis' face with the tips of her fingers. She began on his cheeks, gently rubbing the paste in a circular motion, hoping it was the right style that Brinkaas was looking for. She really didn't want to make a fool of herself in front of him. She continued to do so, painting Tallis' cheekbones, forehead, nose, and chin in a darker colored paste. Harper found the activity somewhat enjoyable, to her surprise. She enjoyed how odd it made Tallis' look. "Oh-kay," She said slowly in a quiet voice. "Time for the lighter color." She grabbed the other tin of paste and repeated the process, focusing on the spots on Tallis' face she neglected to cover earlier: the hollows of his cheeks, around his mouth and under his nose, the sides of his face near his hairline... She took in his eyes. They were gentle and calm looking, an appealing shade of green-brown color. He looked somewhat younger with the paste on his face, Harper noticed. She looked over her work once more and smiled. "All done." After Tallis painted Harper's face and she retrieved her large, baggy black robe to cover the shining parts of her armor, she followed as they were lead into a wooded area. She listened as Ser Monsel spoke, really hating his accent. She wondered where he originally hailed from. Despite her distaste for his accent, she listened to what he said carefully, taking his advice to move slowly and when the wind blows. She realized something, then. She looked over to Tallis. "I have nothing to hunt with," She said, looking at him with a helpless expression. "I've never even touched a bow in my life..." Harper had no idea what use she'd be now, if they did happen to find game.

[Alva Whiteshield]

After checking that the saddle was on nice and tight, Alva mounted her new steed and gathered the reigns between her fingers. Though it was not her first time on a horse it was nice to see how the professionals did the little things, like dismounting and having the right posture when riding. Ser Carter's slurred speech threw her off a bit, and she had to pay extra attention when he spoke to not miss anything. The man was a bit odd but she liked his friendly manner, and found herself smiling often when he talked.

As they headed out she tried to pay attention to the world around her like Ser Carter suggested. She realized being a scout wasn't easy, especially when the fading light made it hard to see the details of things. Often her whole focus would be on keeping her horse in a light trot and to see what was in front of her, only to discover she was no longer hearing anything. It was difficult for her to pay attention to all her senses at once. She noticed she was tensing up and decided to relax and take in one thing at the time. Her gaze went to the darkening horizon and then to a large oak at the side of the road. She took a note of it as a landmark and also discovered a bunch of mugwort growing along their trail. Alva could recognize it's silvery leaves anywhere as it was one of the first plants she had learned about while staying with her aunt who was an herbalist.

When Ser Carter asked them to say something about themselves she looked up at his back as she was riding behind him.

I'm Alva...Alva Whiteshield. She wasn't sure what else to add besides her name. He already knew she was a squire and she didn't think her past really mattered.

My grandmother was a knight, though I never knew her. Her name was Serena Whiteshield. She said, wondering if Ser Carter and Ser Danhiel might have heard of her. She looked down at her hands. Apparently she was very brave, but....died in battle.

She frowned, her voice betraying some old emotion that she quickly hid behind a quick smile, though of course the man could not see it. The death of her grandmother had brought a lot of grief to her family as she had left behind a husband and a young daughter, Alva's mother. Perhaps that's why her mother had never wanted to become a knight herself. Alva however wanted to learn as much as she could about her grandmother, about her strength and courage. She yearned to be like her, and carried her grandmother's old sword on her back with pride. Maybe she just needed someone to look up to as she struggled to become a different person, a better person. A knight.

[Tallis]

Tallis cracked a smile when Harper introduced herself. It was merely an exchange of names, but if they were to work as a team, names were essential to communication. Turning his attention back towards Ser Brinkaas, Tallis took in the demonstration. Camouflage looked fun. It reminded Tallis of when he was a child and he and his friends would paint their faces in mud, much to their mothers’ dismay. Allowing Harper to paint his face first, Tallis saw something soften in her features. It made him wonder what he looked like. Blinking away the sting of smoke from his eyes, Tallis reached for his own tin. Turning Harper so that she faced the fire, Tallis dipped his fingers in the paint and hesitantly reached up to touch Harper’s face. Although she played it cool, Tallis could tell that she wasn't happy with the experience. Perhaps it was the touching or the grime, whatever it was, Tallis could tell she wanted it to end quickly. Choosing a darker colour, Tallis smudged it across her cheek and dragged it over the ridge of her nose. Keeping in mind what areas of the face the light would illuminate and which areas it would cast in shadow. A few moments later Tallis stepped back to admire the mask he had created. Tallis couldn’t even tell who she was anymore. Tallis left to borrow some equipment to compliment his own. Coming back, he now donned a suit of simple leather armor, a pair of well-fitted boots covered his feet and shielded most of his calves, a scarf hung around his neck, and a pair of gloves sat snugly on his hands. Tallis had also borrowed a crossbow, which he now held awkwardly in his hands quiver of arrows was slung over his shoulder. Tallis listened to Ser Monsel’s instructions on stealth. If anything Tallis knew that he had an advantage here. As one of Zulrav’s stormwardens, Tallis had the ability to read the winds, so moving with the breeze wouldn’t be a problem at all. However, Zulrav’s gifts didn’t help Tallis search for prey. As they waked deeper into the woods, Harper voiced her concerns. “I don’t have anything to hunt with. I’ve never even touched a bow in my life.” Tallis waved the crossbow awkwardly and smiled reassuringly. “Neither have I,” he whispered, “but with Ser Brinkaas and Ser Monsel around, I doubt we’ll even have to lift a finger.”

[Chevalier]

Taletha and Alva

The female Knight seemed to be rather stone-faced during the short story Alva provided, Ser Carter on the other hand nodded and commented in places, "Bravery ish a quality every Knight schould have. No one can ashk for more. It ish a shad reality that schome of ush schall meet our end scho early." his voice became a bit more grave than it's typical jovial tenor. Many Knights had lost family or friends simply due to the violent nature of Syliras. The Djed storm had been a blow to morale as well, taking with it almost half of the Warrior Mage forces that dwelled within Syliras. Previously standing at 100 men strong, the specialized segment of the Knights was now reduced to a little greater than fifty.

It didn't take long for the pace to suddenly begin to slow down, the horses steps moving toward a walk from a canter. Ser Carter moved toward the front of the quartet of people and suddenly began sniffing at the air, almost like some sort of Human bloodhound. "We're closhe, I can schmell it, letsh tie up the horshesh and schee on foot jusht how deep thish flood ish." the lanky Knight spoke over his shoulder as the group took refuge in a cluster of dense trees. Climbing down from his mount, Ser Danhiel following in suit. If either of the two traveling with him needed aid in understanding how to properly dismount, the Knight briefly gave instructions, "Aye, push down wish the palms whilsht pullin' a leg up an' over. Bend the knee wish the foot in the stirrup and tousch the ground. There we go. Ok, we need to schee jusht how far down the water goesh, cause we might be able to wait a day or scho if the weather looksh good. If not we'll have to find a way around."

The trek toward the swampy region of the roadway wasn't too great, though the water stretched from left to right nearly five hundred yards, moving across the entire roadway and well into the woodlands that sprung up from either side of the otherwise packed dirt, and sat some fifty yards wide. "Who wantsh to schwim out there an' tesht the depth? Jusht kidding. Naw, teshting depth ish easy if ya gotsh a length of rope." The man unshouldered his pack and dipped a hand inside, fishing out a coil of rope, to which with one side he began wrapping about a nearby rock he had pried out of the mucky ground. "Schee we can tossh thish weighted end in, and then we'll know bout how deep down she goesh when we pull it out." Like a practice stone-tosser, Ser Carter winded back with his arm and threw the rock clear across the entire mini-lake, leaving it bouncing upon the opposite side. Handing it over to Alva, he described what she was to do, "Here try it. Schlowly pull the rope in, you've got to have a good shenshe of toucsh now. Focus on how it feelsh and you'll be able to tell when the depth fallsh down, or becomesh shallow."

Though the action itself was potentially quite boring, Alva would find her slow and methodical retraction of the rope anything but normal. Indeed, about halfway across the watery roadblock, the young woman would suddenly feel her rock stuck on something. Then, like nothing she had ever felt before, a huge force began tugging the rope with a force that would threaten to drag her into the water unless she released her grip.

Harper and Tallis

Although the two definitely had their doubts, Sergeant Brinkaas was quick in dispelling their fears, "Worry not. I'm not planning on loosing an arrow myself. Ser Monsel here is going to be our shot, while we will be on the lookout for game and other things of an edible quality. Speaking which, I'll mention a few quick things." Brinkaas continued, bringing his voice down low as Monsel began to step out ahead of the small assembled group. A carved yew short bow was removed from the dark skinned man's shoulder as he walked, his footsteps slow and steady.

"There are a great deal of roots, mushrooms, and fruits that you'll find in the wild, but you'll need to determine if they are poisonous. When you find something, such as a root, first check it for signs of parasites. Worms and bugs mean the plant is rotting, but is otherwise able to sustain living creatures. Get a healthy portion of the plant and utilize a process for determining if it's poisonous. First, touch the plant upon your bare skin to determine if there is a reaction, allow it to sit there for multiple chimes. If there is no reaction, place the plant against your lips for multiple chimes. If there is no reaction, place the plant upon your tongue for multiple chimes. If there is no reaction, chew the plant but do not swallow, then wait multiple chimes to see if there is any reaction. If a plant, fruit, mushroom, whatever makes it through this process, it is most likely good enough to eat. Keep a log of plants, roots, fruits and other things, and add to it as you test different plants. This will let you call upon your research quickly in the future as you test more and more things..." before he could go any further, a sharp 'shhh' came from the mouth of Ser Monsel as he slowly retrieved an arrow from a thigh quiver.

The man placed his arrow against the ornate wooden rest upon his bow, while the carved nock fitted surely against the string. To the untrained eye, almost nothing could be seen out in the darkness of the night, but if one listened closely enough they could hear the rustling of leaves and twigs. Heavy feet were walking some 20 yards away. Dropping his weight closer to the ground, Monsel led the group forth, until finally Tallis and Harper could both see the shadowy outline of something in the distance. "Be-are." was all their guide mentioned, his words barely forced hard enough to be heard by those directly behind him. The tension upon the string pulled taut as he retracted the rear of the arrow, his breath moving in as he readied his shot. Then, with a sharp exalt he loosed his arrow, causing a deep grunt to the thing he fired up. "Damn, de shot...eet was non par-fect." For any novice archer firing and striking a target would have been good enough, but Monsel was often dedicated in killing his prey with the very first arrow.

"Eet we-ll bleed out, but we canna' be losin' it. Quick!" he began to rush forward, trying his best to keep everyone up with him. The hasty footsteps of the black bear were simple to follow at first, being so close to the group. In the darkness though, losing site of something with black fur could mean losing the prey entirely. "Watch for de blood as eet glistens in de tiny moonlight..." his words moved quickly, much like his feet as he hustled, even Brinkaas stumbling here and there to keep up.

"It's going deep into the forest, we can't risk wandering too far from the main camp..." Brinkaas mentioned as his words became more and more ragged from their woodland run, "...Squire Haprer, you're from the Warrior Mage company, do you have anything that can stop the bear? How about you Mr. Tallis? Quickly, we must act fast, I feel all of the movement and dense foliage is keeping Monsel from having a second clear shot!"

[Harper]

Harper continued to follow Brinkaas and Monsel, being the furthest behind due to habit of always being last in line. Harper enjoyed keeping her distance between any possible threat, letting others take the front line and she casting from the back. It was a simple and well-used tactic by many mages. She nodded in appreciation when Ser Brinkaas reassured her, thankful for the fact that she wasn't expected to use any type of weapon. Harper was never very good with physical weapons. She listened carefully as Sergeant Brinkaas explained the testing process for discerning whether food was edible or not. All of the steps seemed to feed off of basic common-sense. Harper didn't exactly like the idea of touching possibly-poisonous material to her lips, tongue, or any other part of her body for that matter, but knew that it would be necessary if she wanted to continue eating. In the past years, she had never really had to find food for herself. She just bought it from various places wherever she could. Harper noticed Monsel's movements and automatically stopped in her tracks, eyes wide. She wasn't sure how to react or handle the situation. Standing perfectly still, she listened to Monsel whisper what she made out to be "bear," and her gut dropped. Why did it have to be a bear? Bears were large, scary, and had big tempers. Harper didn't want to deal with that. She heard the arrow whiz out of the bow, heard a large thump sound, heard the bear let out a pain-filled grunt, and finally the bear running away. The next thing she knew, they were running after it, chasing it to finish off the kill. Monsel said to watch for the blood, but could see none. She caught slight glimpses of creature running through the thick brush. When Brinkaas addressed Harper, asking her if she "had anything that could stop the bear," she automatically began focusing her Djed. She stepped in front of Ser Brikaas and Ser Monsel, holding them back with her arms outstretched. When her Djed was focused properly, she began opening a vertical portal about a foot in front of her. She started a Pull, focusing only on the bear. The Pull was weak at first, only enough to slow it down, but at the Portal grew, so did the Pull. Keeping herself focused, Harper began to pull the bear towards them. At least, with this, Monsel could shoot the bear again until it died, or Tallis could pitch in. The sound of the bear being dragged through the brush of the forest was a loud one, and the bear made cries for help. The bear fought back, of course, trying to keep itself grounded, which caused more strain on Harper. She was already tired from earlier, but she was determined to kill this bear. When the bear was almost ten feet in front of them, struggling greatly against Harper's Pull, she looked behind her and screamed, "Now, someone: end it! I can't hold it much longer!"

[Alva Whiteshield]

Alva slid down from her horse, and following the direction of the two knights she tied her stallion to a nearby tree and moved closer to the flooded road.

Her boots were covered in mud by the time they reached the small lake and yet she decided she was enjoying being a scout. She liked watching the knights in action and was still smiling often when Ser Carter spoke. Though her smile faded for a moment when he suggested for someone to swim out to check how deep the water was, only to return much brighter when she realized he was joking. She shook her head in a mixture of relief and amusement before stepping closer to the edge of the flooded road, where Ser Carter was now tying a rock to a piece of rope.

She watched him throw it cleanly across the small lake while managing to hide her amazement. She felt confident enough when he handed her the rope as the task seemed very simple, and she steadily began retracting it like Ser Carter had instructed. The rock would feel heavier where the water was deeper and lighter when it grew more shallow, and Alva had dragged it halfway across the flooded road when it seemed to get stuck on something. At first she didn't think much about it and tugged on the rope, making the rock inch forward a bit before it was once again stuck. Frowning she automatically widened her stance as it was suddenly being sucked backwards, almost snatching the rope clean out of her hands. She tightened her grip and leaned backwards to put all her strength into pulling, her eyes widening in shock when the force in the opposite direction increased tenfold and began dragging her towards the water.

Uhh....Ser....She began, her voice strained from fighting to hold onto the rope. It was only getting harder and she was already to her ankles in water when she realized it was wise to let go. Unable to keep her balance she fell backwards as the rope disappeared into the lake, a small grunt escaping her lips as she hit the ground with a thud.

What....was that? Grimacing she slowly got back to her feet, the back of her armor now covered in mud. The palms of her hands burned from having fought with the rope and she eyed the lake with newfound suspicion, hoping that her superior had some perfectly rational explanation for what had just happened. She wiped her hands on her skirt and then tried to remove dirt that had splashed onto her face, before turning to look at Ser Carter with a flicker of concern in her eyes. She was new to being a scout, but what had happened in the water seemed anything but normal to her.

[Tallis]

*sorry about this, I'm typing on a phone so I'll edit when I get back.

Tallis made a mental note to start a journal as soon as he got back to camp. The overall process of testing plants seemed like a tedious one, but it made more sense than getting sick. And anyways, Auristics would make the job easier. His thoughts were interrupted by Ser Monsel's admonition.

A bear? Tallis hadn't expected that. Why couldn't it have been a deer or rabbit or other creature that didn't hold the possibility of mauling them to death? Tallis kept his eyes peeled, but he spent more time focused on Monsel's back than he did on trying to find glistening blood.

At Ser Brinkaas' prompting, Harper pushed in front of the group and began working some sort of magic. Tallis wasn't quite sure what she was doing, but it had stopped the bear in its tracks and had started pulling it backwards.

When the bear was ten feet away, Tallis could sense Harper's strength wavering. Calling upon his own djed reserves, Tallis sent streamers of res through the ground to pool underneath the bear's paws. Quickly transmuting the res to stone, Tallis rooted the bear to the forest floor with rocky manacles.

"Harper! You can let go, I've got it trapped!"

It had taken mere moments to stop the bear and Tallis knew it had given Ser Monsel enough time to prepare the killing shot. He was more concerned about Harper's condition. Hopefully she hadn't over-exerted herself.

[Chevalier]

Taletha and Alva

"Ehhh? Whash thish?" Ser Carter was left scratching his head after what he had just seen from Alva. Ser Danhiel was quite similarly confused, although her confusion turned mostly into caution, "I don't like the looks of it." she mentioned, shortly after the lanky Ser Carter began approaching the bog-like waters. Even with his keen eyesight developed from years of Scout work, it was difficult to see past the darkness of the night, combined with the murky waters. The moon provided some reflection upon the rippling surface, but otherwise things seemed eeriely quiet.

The silence was suddenly broken when a twisted, gnarled limb burst from the surface of the water trying to take a grab at Ser Carter. The lithe man's reflexes appeared to be in top shape however as he leapt backwards and away from the grappling...hand? No, it was more like a mess of vines than anything else. Vines wrapped about in some sort of cohesion, creating the appearance of a hand that constantly pulsed and rippled as its shape changed with each passing moment. Reflexively Ser Carter pulled his tabard up and over his head, revealing a specially made vest that appeared to be concealing countless throwing knives.

Danhiel reached down to her belt and snatched up a pair of hand axes, calling out "Back up away from the water!" Not a moment too soon either as a thick, lumbering shape made it's way from the small lake. The skin of the creature was more like a living shell of plants, vines, mud, and other vegetation. It made no noise as it rose, and those who knew anything about the Landspawn of Mizahar would recognize it as a Vinumia. Typically though, the creatures took years to mature, could this one have been traveling someplace when it came across the body of water to rejuvinate itself?

Pulling knives from his vest, Ser Carter began tossing them with a practiced hand. His whip like arms were representitive of the same power he displayed when he tossed the rock clear across the lake, and the knives struck with an unusual amount of concussive force, one actually severing a piece of the creature's limbs. However, despite the display of prowess, the thing looked down unflinchingly at it's damage and immediately began to repair itself. "Well...that dinna work scho well..."

"Whiteshield, draw your weapon. We'll go in together and flank the creature. They move slowly, and we must destroy the source of power within it's heart." the squat woman called over toward the recently grounded Squire as she began to circle, cautiously approaching her enemy.

Harper and Tallis

As the gaping maw of the portal opened up before them, all those present watched as some unnatural force began to pull rearward at the bear, causing it to huff and roar, it's claws tearing away at the ground as it struggled to maintain it's footing. A hastily made snare seemed to be an excellent use for a voiding portal it seemed, as it did a well enough job of slowing the animal down substantially so the group could get into a better posiiton. Tallis likewise appeared to be quick in getting his res together in order to create an appropriate earthen effect.

Portals however, were typically difficult to construct properly. Indeed even a competent Voider required nearly ten seconds to create a stable one. Whether it was this haste or not would be difficult to determine, but just as Ser Monsel drew back his bow and laid down the finishing blow, the growing portal suddenly spat something out from it's black confines. A strange, twisted, grotesque creature with taut white skin. Though humanoid, gone were its original limbs, replaced by the claw-like appendages of some beast. Stumbling out into the world for the first time in who knew how long, it glanced about with wild eyes, catching the group within it's glare.

Moving down on all fours like a wild animal it pounced atop Harper, knocking her to the ground as it's maw began to open, the bottom jaw dislocating like a snakes, revealing the flesh rending teeth inside. "What in the world!" gasped Brinkaas as he finally kicked himself into gear, shoulder tackling the creature off of Haprer's chest just as it was raising one of it's claws up to the sky. Though the two tangled briefly on the ground, the wiry void-thing was quite limber and twisted away, it's claws raking across the armor covering Sergeant Brinkaas' chest in the process. Bounding upwards to it's bare feet, it shot off at a run comparible to a hunting dog, straight for the Reimancer Tallis. "Tallis, watch out!" growled Brinkaas, scrambling to his feet while drawing forth a wickedly pointed gladius from its sheath.

[Tallis]

As the creature leapt on top of Harper, it was clear that she had no control over it whatsoever. Unlike the bear, this white monstrosity practically glowed, its paleness contrasting sharply against the darkness of the forest. The creature was unnatural in so many ways, and it was angry. With a trained reaction, Ser Brinkaas tackled the creature. What he hadn’t planned for was that the monstrosity would ricochet towards Tallis: Untrained, unprepared, unfortunate Tallis. Perhaps it was the adrenaline already coursing through him that set him into motion so quickly, but Tallis was already in action when the creature leapt at him. A gaping maw full of razor-sharp teeth rushed towards him and he met it head on. With his djed supplies at the ready and res streaming from both his hands with relative ease, the young mage was ready for battle. Forming a thick sphere of smoke-grey res, Tallis engulfed the void-thing’s head and transmuted the magical substance into solid rock. Surprisingly, this wasn’t his first time trapping a monster in such a fashion, but without time to prepare, he hadn’t fully encased the creature’s head. At least the creature’s jaws were disabled. With the sudden weight on its shoulders, the creature crashed forwards, lashing about wildly with its claws. Tallis lifted his arms up to guard himself as best he could, but his armor was only leather hide and the creature’s claws were strong. The void-thing alternated between clawing at its encased head and flailing about, striking the young mage repeatedly. Despite its wiry and thin appearance, the creature was quite strong. As the claws crashed into him again and again, Tallis’ redirected his djed, sending the magical energy travelling to his arms. With the powers of Flux activated, Tallis’ feelings of pain melted away and gave way to feelings of rage. He was NOT going to let some ugly creature that crawled out of a magical hole toss him around like a ragdol. Sending the djed down through his leg, Tallis held his arms up around his head, stepped in towards the creature, and sent a flux powered knee crashing into its midriff. Momentarily stunned by the attack, the creature took a step back. Tallis went back to the basics of his flux training: let the body flow as freely as the djed. Redirecting the djed into his arm, Tallis pushed forward and sent an elbow crashing into the creature’s torso. Damn it felt good pummeling something. Pushing the creature backwards with a flurry of attacks, Tallis let loose one more flux-powered punch. The void-thing tripped backwards, leaving a large gap between Tallis and itself.